The latest data and commentary from research firm Kantar Worldpanel found that the number of consumers eating meat-free meals rose by 150m compared with the previous year. The shift to a more plant-based diet meant that 1% of households included a vegan, 5% had a vegetarian and 10% of households included a flexitarian in their ranks.
Sales of fruit, vegetables and salad grew by £46m compared with January 2017, fuelled by Veganuary participants and health-conscious shoppers following an indulgent Christmas period.
‘Free-from’
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, added: “Cucumbers, carrots and berries, in particular, proved to be shopper favourites, rocketing by 26%, 22% and 13% respectively. Meanwhile, over two-thirds of customers bought an item labelled ‘free-from’ over the past month, with dairy alternatives like plant milks making up a quarter of total free-from sales.”
Research from Nielsen cemented the growth of meat-free in the UK, reporting a 1.5% volume growth in fresh produce during the last four-week period ending 26 January. Key drivers were sales of broccoli (up 15%), beetroot (up 14%) and blueberries (up 10%).
The volume increase in the frozen food category (up 3.7%) also revealed changing consumer shopping habits, as shoppers explored more ways to save money while still eating healthily.
‘Evolving shopping trends’
Nielsen’s UK head of retailer insight Mike Watkins said: “The increase in grocery spend in the fresh and frozen food categories is testament to evolving shopping trends. In the new year, consumers are focusing on positive diet changes which are not just healthy, but convenient, cheap and less wasteful overall.”
Other observations by Kantar included alcohol sales growing 10% over the past four weeks, despite Dry January dominating social media feeds. In addition, Aldi and Lidl continued to lead the field with 18.3m households shopping in at least one of the discounters over the past 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, a Northern Ireland bacon and sausage processor is to capitalise on the growing demand for non-meat alternatives by opening a £3m vegan and vegetarian factory.
